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Major Fed Team Decides To Skip Ellis Park Derby, Train Up To Kentucky Derby

Major Fed, runner-up in the Indiana Derby on July 8, had been under consideration for Sunday's Ellis Park Derby at the Henderson, Ky. track. Instead, Travis Foley, assistant and son to trainer Greg Foley, told the Daily Racing Form that the 3-year-old son of Ghostzapper will head straight to the Kentucky Derby on Sept. 5.

Based at Churchill Downs, Major Fed worked a half-mile beneath the Twin Spires in :50.20 on Aug. 1.

“We're happy with where we are with him and comfortable with the points situation,” the younger Foley told drf.com. “Everything's good and we didn't feel like we needed the race in between.”

Major Fed also owns a second-place finish in the G2 Risen Star Stakes, and a fourth from the G2 Louisiana Derby, leaving him with a total of 38 points toward the Kentucky Derby. He currently sits 16th on the points leaderboard.

MSW Purses: $97K Derby Week, $75K Rest of Churchill Meet; $70K at Keeneland

Projected autumn purse levels for maiden special weight races on the Kentucky circuit were revealed during a video meeting of the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund (KTDF) advisory committee on Tuesday.

Ben Huffman, director of racing at Churchill Downs, said, “We’re going to have two [MSW] purses. We’re going to supercharge [GI Kentucky] Derby week, like we’ve been doing. And that maiden purse Derby week is going to be $97,000. The remaining nine days are going to be $75,000.”

Churchill had closed out its spring/summer season at the $79,000 level for MSW races.

The MSW races for the 17-day Keeneland Race Course meet will be $70,000, the same level as the July mini-meet.

Bob Elliston, Keeneland’s vice president of racing, said that his track will “basically give away the same amount of money this fall as we did last fall” in terms of overall purses.

“As we sit today, there will be limited participation of owners or fans on-track, so at this hour we are not projecting significant daily earnings from on-track wagers. We hope that changes,” Elliston added.

Both tracks had their requests approved unanimously for KTDF funding, which means a recommendation from the advisory committee to release that money will be forwarded to the full Kentucky Horse Racing Commission board for final voting at its next meeting.

Kentucky Downs MSW purse levels were not discussed on Tuesday because the track had already requested funding for its September season back in June. At that time, a track official said the MSW level projected to be $90,000.

The KTDF is funded by three-quarters of 1% of all money wagered on both live Thoroughbred races and historical horse race (HHR) gaming, plus 2% of all money wagered on Thoroughbred races via inter-track wagering and whole-card simulcasting.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic that shut down racing, the KTDF was not able to generate revenue via (HHR) gaming and on-track wagering between March and June. It has since been able to recoup some funding with the limited reopening of HHR.

“To give you a sense of how fragile this is…had the governor not taken the act that he did to permit historical racing to comeback online, for us it may be $200,000 to $300,000 a month in KTDF funds that wouldn’t be earned. So God forbid if we have a continuation of a problem or an escalation of a problem where we had to rescind the activity. It could really encroach upon the numbers that we had,” Elliston said.

Bill Landes III, the chairman of the fund’s advisory committee, who represents the Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association (KTOB), echoed that sentiment. “Our situation, as everybody knows, is in flux,” he said.

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Casse: Enforceable ‘Has Grown Up A Lot,’ But Will Need ‘Plenty Of Pace’ In Kentucky Derby

Grade 3 winner Enforceable will enter the starting gate for the Kentucky Derby off a two-month layoff, trainer Mark Casse told The Canadian Press this week. Most recently fourth in the G2 Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland on July 11, the 3-year-old son of Tapit is still ranked 12th on the Derby points leaderboard (43).

Enforceable is therefore expected to earn a spot in the starting gate for the classic, delayed by COVID-19 to Sept. 5.

The royally-bred Enforceable is a full brother to multiple graded stakes-winner Mohaymen and half-brother to Grade 1 winner New Year's Day, and races for owner John Oxley. A late-closing type, the colt's other starts in 2020 include a win in the G3 Lecomte (Jan. 18), a second in the G2 Risen Star (Feb. 15), and a fifth in the G2 Louisiana Derby (Mar. 21).

“He has grown up a lot,” Casse told The Canadian Press. “It's a tough Derby, he is going to need things to go his way. He needs there to be plenty of pace . . . that makes him much more effective.”

Bred in Kentucky by Clearsky Farms, Enforceable's total earnings stand at $397,150 with a record of 2-2-2 from 10 starts. He was a $775,000 RNA at the Keeneland September yearling sale.

His most recent workout was a five-furlong move at Churchill in 1:02.60 on Aug. 1. Enforceable, under jockey Declan Carroll, started about two lengths behind his stablemate and worked through fractions of :12.80, :25.60 and :38.40. Enforceable finished about a half-length to the good at the wire but continued in front through a six-furlong gallop out of 1:15.80 and finished his work with a seven-furlong time of 1:29.60.

“I was very happy with how he worked this morning,” said 21-year-old Carroll, whose father, David, oversees Casse's Churchill Downs string. “He did everything in stride. I was just the pilot.”

Casse was not in town for the work but reported via text following watching a short video of his stretch run, “I really like what I'm seeing.”

Churchill May Require Derby Jockeys to be in Kentucky by Aug. 24

Churchill Downs may require all jockeys riding during the short meet surrounding the GI Kentucky Derby to be in the state of Kentucky by Aug. 24. Churchill Downs Senior Director, Communication & Media Services Darren Rogers said the rule is being considered but no official decision will be announced until later in week.

Rogers added that Churchill is also expected to announce shortly a complete list of protocols that will be in place for the Derby, including how many fans will be allowed to attend the race.

For jockeys who regularly ride in New York and in California, meeting the Kentucky requirements would mean missing the final two weeks at Saratoga and Del Mar. Once returning to their home base they would likely have to undergo another quarantine period before being allowed to ride again. In New York, anyone traveling to a number of states, Kentucky among them, must go into quarantine for 14 days upon returning to the state.

Anticipating that his rider will be required to be in Kentucky by the 24th and under quarantine, agent Angel Cordero, Jr. said that Manny Franco will not be giving up the mount on possible Derby favorite Tiz the Law (Constitution).

“We have to go,” Cordero said. “You don’t just find horses like this one. It’s going to be tough for all the jockeys because they’re going to have to spend two weeks without riding and then have to ride in an important race like that.”

Cordero said he was hoping that riders would be allowed in on the eve of the race if they could provide evidence that they did not have the coronavirus.

“I don’t know why they just don’t test them and if they test clean they should let them ride,” he said. “We will be missing the last part of Saratoga and then maybe another two weeks after that. All together, we’ll miss about a month. I know everyone is dealing with the same problem, but I’m a believer that if you test clean, they should let them ride. Why don’t they test them three days before the Derby or one day before the Derby and if they don’t test clean just take them off the horses.”

Mike Smith, who rides top GI Kentucky Oaks contender Swiss Skydiver (Daredevil) and has been riding top Derby candidates Honor A.P. (Honor Code) and Authentic (Into Mischief) said he’s not sure what he is going to do.

“I just don’t know what to do,” he said. “What they’re asking us to do seems very difficult to do. You’re going to have to be there 10 days out. I’d rather be somewhere where I feel safer and just fly in, test and ride. This way, I think you have more of a chance of picking it up, being outside of your house and having to go out to eat. I’m not saying I won’t be riding at Churchill. It’s just that this is going to be really difficult.”

Bob Baffert, who trains a number of Derby contenders, including Authentic, said he also hopes Churchill will come up with another way of dealing with out-of-town riders. Baffert took part in a virtual town hall meeting Monday with horsemen in which Churchill Downs President Kevin Flannery discussed the potential rules the track is considering for Derby week.

“I hope they are still working on this and just threw this out there,” he said. “To me, they’re playing with fire bringing them in there 10 days before. That gives them a chance to get sick. Let them come in like Monmouth Park did for the Haskell. They went to a place there and got tested and within 15 minutes they got their results. It seems to me that they should let them come in, test them, let them ride and then let them get out of there. That is as long as they come in there with a negative test. I told Kevin Flannery that this was a bad idea. If they wanted to do all this they should have just run the race in May.”

Baffert said he had yet to discuss Derby week plans with any of the jockeys who might ordinarily be riding in Kentucky for him.

Ron Anderson, the agent for John Velazquez and Joel Rosario, said Monday he wasn’t sure what his riders would do.

“Churchill Downs can do what they want to do,” Anderson said. “I don’t think it is a proper decision, but it’s their ball game. We will have to play the cards we are dealt. How many days would they have to sit out when coming back? I don’t know how to weigh any of this. I have multiple decisions to make on behalf of both of my jockeys. Right now, I have no idea what to do. This is a huge predicament for everybody.”

During the meeting with trainers, Flannery discussed several other protocols the track is considering, among them allowing only two owners per Derby horse to come on the backstretch. Under the proposal, jockeys riding Derby week must take at least two coronavirus tests before being allowed to ride, one on Aug. 24 and another on Aug. 31 A rider who tests positive during the first phase would be required to quarantine for 10 days, which would still allow them to rode in the Derby and/or the GI Kentucky Oaks.

A jockey coming into Kentucky to ride for the Churchill September meet might be inclined to stay. Returning to their home base would also likely require an additional quarantine period, while staying in Kentucky would allow them to ride uninterrupted at Kentucky Downs, the fall meet at Churchill and then the Breeders’ Cup, which will be held Nov. 6 and 7 at Keeneland.

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